RABAT - Morocco’s Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) said on Thursday it had bought a 71% stake in Antananarivo-based Banque de Madagascar et de l’Ocean Indien (BMOI) from France’s BPCE.

The deal will help BCP boost its presence in the Indian Ocean area and develop new digital services in Madagascar, said the bank in a statement.

BCP has 6.2 million clients in Morocco and operates in 30 countries including 16 in Africa. It launched this year a subsidiary trade bank in Mauritius, where BCP sees opportunities created by investment flows from Asia to Africa.

The bank this month reinforced its footprint in Africa through the acquisition from BPCE of a 100% stake in Banque Commerciale Internationale (BCI) in the Republic of Congo and a 68.5% stake in Cameroon’s Banque Internationale du Cameroun pour l’Epargne et le Crédit (Bicec).

(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) ((ahmed.eljechtimi@thomsonreuters.com;))